Cooking adventures and recipe archives of a home cook in Southern California. I created this blog mostly to share with friends and family, and it includes many recipes for Chinese grub, especially those staples I grew up with as a kid in Taiwan. But as you'll notice, I'm game for any and all cuisines.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Steamed Ground Pork with Fermented Black Beans

Almost forgot about this one, but another fav dish from childhood. I haven't been able to find any recipes online that approximate what my mom and grandmother used to make back in Taiwan, so after consulting with mom and some experimentation in the kitchen, I came up with this version which is as close as it gets:

3. Shape the ground pork mixture into a large ball and place in a heat-proof bowl. Set in a steamer, and steam over medium high heat for 25-30 minutes. Poke a hold into the middle of the meatball with a chopstick to make sure the liquids come out clear. If a bit pinkish, steam for another few minutes to make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked.

4. Turn off heat. Let the pork sit covered in the steamer another 5 minutes before serving. Do not overcook this dish, or the pork will have a tough texture.

5. Serve with steamed white rice or plain rice porridge.

Fermented black beans. These come in little packages at the Chinese market. I store these in the frig - they seem to last indefinitely due to their salt content. Once opened, place these in a ziploc bag, otherwise the odor, which is pleasant (at least IMO) but pungent, can overtake your frig.

Soak the black beans in water for about 5 minutes.

Egg white, soy sauce, rice wine, white pepper.

Combine all ingredients.

Shape pork mixture into a ball and place in a heat-proof bowl. Steam 20-30 minutes.